What can be included in the pitch fee increase

However the increase might also be able to take account of:

• costs of improvements to the site
• deterioration in the condition or decrease in the amenity of the site or any adjoining land which is occupied or controlled by the owner
• reduction in the services that the owner supplies to the site, pitch or park home, and any deterioration in the quality of those services
• direct effect on the costs payable by the owner in relation to the maintenance or management of the site of any new legislation that has come into force since the last review date

The site owner cannot include:

• legal costs for preparing the pitch fee review form
• costs incurred resulting from local authority enforcement action, altering the site licence or consenting to the licence
• costs of expanding the site
• costs incurred in proceedings under the Mobile Homes Act 1983 or Mobile Homes (Wales) Act 2013

Improvements are changes or additions that are for the benefit of the occupiers of mobile homes on the site, which were the subject of consultation and to which a majority of the park home owners have not disagreed in writing.

The site owner may be able to include the costs of improvements in a proposed pitch fee increase. However, they can only recover the costs if:

• they consulted all of the occupiers on the improvements
• they consulted with any qualifying residents’ association of the site on matters relating to the operation and management of the site, and how it may affect the occupiers
• before any improvements were done, they took into account any representations received from the occupiers – they cannot start any work if the majority of the occupiers have disagreed to the works in writing

To consult they must give the occupier at least 28 days’ notice in writing of the proposed improvements which:

• describes the proposed improvements and how they will benefit the occupier in the long and short term
• explains how the pitch fee may be affected when it is next reviewed
• states when and where the occupier can make representations about the proposed improvements

The site owner must take into account any representations made by the occupier about the proposed improvements before undertaking them.

If a majority of residents have disagreed, the tribunal would need to decide whether those improvements should be taken into account when determining the amount of the new pitch fee.

Since 1 April 2014, local authorities have been able to charge a site owner an annual fixed site licence fee. This applies to “protected sites”, which are sites that do not have any restrictions on the times of year when the site can be occupied or that are not exclusively for holiday use.

The annual licence fee may be recovered through the pitch fee. Once the licence fee has been added to the overall pitch fee, it becomes part of the annual pitch fee and is subject to any CPI increases that are applied.

A deduction from the pitch fee may be made only if the condition of the site has deteriorated or services have been reduced since 26 May 2013 and this has not been taken into account in a previous pitch fee review.